United We Stand
by xoxoeosvugirl
Summary: AU. Hunger Games set during the time of the Vietnam War. It's 1963, and Peeta is drafted into the war. Meanwhile, Katniss reluctantly volunteers as an army nurse. How will the two survive in their new surroundings? Full summary inside!


**A/N: Hey everyone! This is my first Hunger Games story, so please be kind (: I was inspired to write this by my former AP History teacher; enjoy! **

**Plot: **It's 1963 in the United States of America, and US President Snow has insisted that a draft be held to choose "brave young men" to fight in the brutal war. Peeta Mellark, a poor baker's son living in the coal mining town of Butte, Montana, has just turned eighteen and is sure his name won't be called. After all, he's only 18. Yet, when draft day comes, his number is picked out of the dreaded fishbowl, and he is sent off to Vietnam to train under the leadership of General Seneca Crane.

Katniss Everdeen, Peeta's classmate who just wants to support her family, is talked into volunteering as an army nurse in Vietnam by her mother, who wants to avenge the death of her husband, who died in WWII. All her life, she has been told about how "dedicated" and "resourceful" the US military is and how it is an honor to serve and help in any way possible. However, as Katniss learns more about the war and what it stands for, she finds herself in the middle an ideological battle for truth and justice...and finds herself falling for the army boy forced to the frontlines.

**Pairings: **Katniss/Peeta. What else?

**Rating: **T for violence, language, and just mature themes.

**Genre: **Political Drama/Friendship/Historical Fiction

* * *

It was 1963. The "age of opportunity," they called it. New technology was being created: cable TV, the radio, vacuum cleaners.

It was also the age of terror. America was locked in a brutal war with a ruthless enemy, or so they were told: the Soviets. As President Snow and his cronies referred to it, the "red scare," more formally known as Communism, was tearing across the globe. If the US did not fight back, and fight back hard, soon, everyone would be singing the Soviet National Anthem on their way to work in the factories, all, of course, for below-minimum-wage pay.

Capitalism, on the other hand, was a beautiful symbol of American exceptionalism. Of freedom, democracy, and above all, hope. A man could _make it _in America! He could go from rags to riches, moving up the socioeconomic ladder from the working-class to being the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. After all, it was the United States. Anything could happen.

President Coriolanus Snow held fast to this ideology. He was a strong believer in the doctrine that any American should be free to choose what career they wanted, and work their way to the top, if they so chose. What he didn't account for was the hundreds of thousands of Americans who were, at the time, slaving away in menial jobs all for their meager paycheck.

Americans like Katniss Everdeen, who worked at the local laundromat in Butte, Montana.

Katniss found Butte quite depressing. It was a poor coal mining town in the middle of nowhere. All of the advancements, all of the benefits she had heard were spreading across America, Butte had little of. Even the weather was terrible. It felt like there was a constant storm cloud hanging over the town, a storm cloud whose appearance was reminiscent of coal dust and failure.

And Americans like Peeta Mellark, stuck working for his family's bakery.

"Don't you know anything?" his mother shouted at him, hurling yet another burnt loaf at him. "You burnt the damn thing _again. _What in God's name is your problem? Do you know how much flour costs these days? If it wasn't for that goddamn war..."

_Happy birthday to me, _Peeta thought bitterly. He knew it wasn't his fault his mother was mad at him. It was President Snow's fault, the true example of a capitalist hero. President Snow didn't have to stand in front of the oven cooking all day. He decided everyone's fate without experiencing it himself.

Peeta got some satisfaction out of imagining Snow trying to bake bread and pastries. He snickered a little bit.

"Clean yourself up," his mother ordered him. "You know what day it is."

Peeta's face fell again as he remembered. It was draft day, or the reaping, as he liked to call it. He had been dreading this moment for as long as he could understand what the words "draft," "selective service," and "conscription" meant. He was now eighteen, which meant his Social Security number would be entered into a lottery to be chosen for the "honor" of serving in the Vietnam War.

He had hoped to be able to get out of the draft. But alas, he was in perfect health and passed every physical test administered to him.

_Oh well, _he thought. _I'm only eighteen. What are the odds? _

**Three Hours Later**

Congresswoman Effie Trinket stood at the head of the podium. She was wearing a bright green suit and had curly hair.

Katniss Everdeen, standing with her family, watched in contempt. She resented Effie; her wealthy appearance and extravagant clothes. It was ridiculous that she, a woman from New York City, was able to carry on in such a fashion while the rest of Butte wore little more than rags.

"Are you going to get called?" Prim, Katniss's sister, asked, worried.

"No, sweetie," Katniss assured her, ruffling her hair. "I'm not a boy. Only boys get called."

"Smile," Katniss's mother snapped. "It's an honor to be drafted. You get to serve, to fight for your country and your rights..." Her voice trailed off, as if even she didn't believe what she was saying.

Effie tapped on the microphone anxiously. "Welcome, welcome, to the fifteenth annual United States military draft!" She smiled happily. "We will now announce the draftees from this congressional district. As always, may the odds be _ever_ in your favor!"

Mothers held on to their sons nervously, praying for them not to be called, while fathers patted the boys on their backs, spitting out lines about "honor" and "courage."

"The first draftee is..."

Everyone held their collective breath.

"Peeta Mellark!"

**_To be continued..._**


End file.
